Explaining some terms

[kopec]

Hi, is there anybody who could explain to me what these things *really* mean? thanks (it's written by Korg TR-61):

1. Sequencer: 16 tracks
1/192 resolution
200 songs
I just know seq. is device (SW/HW) that can allow you to compose specific sounds and edit them - dies it mena I can make sounds in some programme in my notebook and then send them to keys and vice versa?

2. EXB-SMPL Sampling Upgrade (sold separately): 48 kHz, 16-bit linear
AIFF, WAVE, AKAI (S3000/S1000 samples and mapped multisamples only), Korg format sample data loading are available

3. MIDI:IN, OUT, THRU
- midi is musical protocol for transfering info about the notes, i.e. songs, but what does exactly mean that in,out,thru

of course, I got loads of questions, but these ones are the most intriguing for me :-D thanks for asnwers, mates

kopec

 

[evergreenthompson]

Sequencer
Even if the keyboard doesn't have an on-board sequencer, as long as you've got MIDI IN/OUT or another connection to your computer, you should be able to transfer song data back and forth.

Sampling
Not quite sure what you are asking, so I'll guess that you are asking about the 48 kHz/16-bit linear.

48 kHz: this is the sample rate, how many samples per second

16-bit linear: this is the resolution, how much information about the recorded sound remains intact when converted to digital form

Some samples can be pitched-adjusted across all or part of the keyboard, like for a non-percussion instrument sound. To improve sound quality, non-percussion instrument sounds are often sampled at different pitches, and then those different samples are mapped appropriately to the keys. Individual samples are often mapped to specific keys. A good example of this is when you choose drum voices. Often each key will play a different drum.

MIDI IN/OUT/THRU

MIDI IN: data comes in through this port

MIDI THRU: whatever data coming in from MIDI IN goes out unchanged. It is important to note that this data is NOT generated by the instrument; it is merely passed straight through from the MIDI IN port.

MIDI OUT: data goes out through this port. This data is generated by the instrument. The data could be an identical copy of what is coming in on the MIDI IN port (but it is still regenerated by the instrument), or it could be a modified copy. Or, the data coming out could be something entirely new.

When connecting instruments and devices together, it is always from MIDI OUT or MIDI THRU on one instrument/device to MIDI IN on another instrument/device.

For instruments/devices with a USB MIDI port, getting the MIDI IN/OUT connections hooked up correctly is taken care of for you.

Note that MIDI data pertaining to sound is nothing more than a description of what notes to play and how to play them (middle C, velocity 64, etc.). MIDI data can also include control information (select voice Grand Piano, turn on feature X, etc.) The data does not include sound data, like MP3, etc.


Hopefully I haven't confused you further!

 

[kanthos]

MIDI THRU also has the advantage of not being processed by the keyboard. If you're chaining a bunch of MIDI devices together and you connect MIDI OUT to MIDI IN, you'll find that if you play a keyboard at the start of the chain, you'll introduce a delay before the sound unit at the end of the chain makes sound. If you use MIDI THRU instead, this delay isn't present (well, technically there's some tiny delay, but you can basically chain a lot more devices together before you'd be able to notice it).

The EXB-SMPL for the Korg TR-61 adds sampling to the keyboard. Sampling is the act of recording audio from some other source so you can play it back; in the case of EXB-SMPL, you need the expansion both to record audio and to play it back. EXB-SMPL comes with 16 MB of RAM by default; it's expandable up to 64 MB.

You can set things up so you can play back audio as a one-shot (record a short phrase and trigger it with a single keypress) or set up a full instrument on the keyboard (for example, to sample a better piano sound).

I highly recommend putting the money into this if you're getting a TR-series keyboard, even if you have no intention of sampling your own audio. There are plenty of free samples and programs available for the TR, and without the memory, you won't be able to load them.

 

[kopec]

Sequencer
Even if the keyboard doesn't have an on-board sequencer, as long as you've got MIDI IN/OUT or another connection to your computer, you should be able to transfer song data back and forth.

Sampling
Not quite sure what you are asking, so I'll guess that you are asking about the 48 kHz/16-bit linear.

48 kHz: this is the sample rate, how many samples per second

16-bit linear: this is the resolution, how much information about the recorded sound remains intact when converted to digital form

Some samples can be pitched-adjusted across all or part of the keyboard, like for a non-percussion instrument sound. To improve sound quality, non-percussion instrument sounds are often sampled at different pitches, and then those different samples are mapped appropriately to the keys. Individual samples are often mapped to specific keys. A good example of this is when you choose drum voices. Often each key will play a different drum.

MIDI IN/OUT/THRU

MIDI IN: data comes in through this port

MIDI THRU: whatever data coming in from MIDI IN goes out unchanged. It is important to note that this data is NOT generated by the instrument; it is merely passed straight through from the MIDI IN port.

MIDI OUT: data goes out through this port. This data is generated by the instrument. The data could be an identical copy of what is coming in on the MIDI IN port (but it is still regenerated by the instrument), or it could be a modified copy. Or, the data coming out could be something entirely new.

When connecting instruments and devices together, it is always from MIDI OUT or MIDI THRU on one instrument/device to MIDI IN on another instrument/device.

For instruments/devices with a USB MIDI port, getting the MIDI IN/OUT connections hooked up correctly is taken care of for you.

Note that MIDI data pertaining to sound is nothing more than a description of what notes to play and how to play them (middle C, velocity 64, etc.). MIDI data can also include control information (select voice Grand Piano, turn on feature X, etc.) The data does not include sound data, like MP3, etc.


Hopefully I haven't confused you further!

thanks a lot, mate, it helped me a lot

ad MIDI) so, if an instrument doesn't support MIDI thru, every time it receives info from MIDI - IN, this info is regenerated by the intru. and sent out through MIDI-OUT? the reason for MIDI-THRU is that is can transfer MIDI file without altering it...

btw, i'm looking for a keyboard that's right for me in this time - there's a post in here, not far from this thread and I'd like to hear your opinion on this. I'm not sure whether to buy synth and amp or rather some cheaper keys with on-board speakers or a workstation... I want to play at home, but in studio as well - no live gigs - the specifications are in that therad

and last question - if I buy MIDI controller I need sound module as well in order to generate sounds - how does the sound card on PC fit in this pattern? ca I have MIDI controller plugged in my PC and play through my sound card and external speakers?

thanks for the patience and aswers

PS: any good keyboard forum except for this one? (I know of Keyboard player forum) or any site dedicated to basics when talking about el.keys?
thanks again

kopec

 

[kopec]

oh, sorry, while I was writing the response to evergreen, i didn't notice you posted yours kanthos :-D
yeah, thanks, now I can finally understand a bit that MIDI THRU, thanks to you both!
that sampler looks like fun - you know, record some strings part, then play it back and play along with it - great

kopec

 

[kanthos]

You can possibly play through your computer. You'll either need a keyboard that has PC or Mac MIDI drivers and connects via USB (so your computer will recognize the keyboard as a MIDI device) or a way to connect your keyboard to your computer via MIDI. There are fairly cheap USB MIDI interfaces that do this; some audio interfaces have MIDI input(s) and output(s) as well.

Now that your computer recognizes your keyboard as a MIDI device, you need one or two things to get the computer to make sound. You can get a DAW (digital audio workstation) that will let you record MIDI and audio data and get various virtual instruments (most DAWs come with some; the good ones all cost some amount of money; it's much cheaper to get good synths than it is to get good orcehstral instruments). Your DAW routes the MIDI signal to one or more virtual instruments, which produce the sound; your DAW lets you mix and apply effects to the sound, and then outputs it to your sound card/audio interface.

The other way is that some virtual instruments have standalone modes where you don't need a DAW. With this approach though, you can only use one piece of software at a time (though your software may have multiple instruments or even let you load an audio file as a backing track) and you probably can't record what you're playing (though you could route the audio output back into your computer to record it in a separate piece of software). This way is only really good for fooling around without the trouble of getting a DAW, but it's not really recommended.

Your audio interface makes a big difference. A basic soundcard probably has a really high latency (delay between when you press a key and when you hear a note); a good audio interface is built for this type of work and will greatly reduce the latency. Odds are you just have a standard soundcard and would want a good audio interface.

To summarize, if you want to record, you probably need:

• A DAW (Cubase, FL Studio, Sonar, Logic, GarageBand)
• One or more virtual instruments (or you can record the audio from your keyboard; you can even play your keyboard and bounce the MIDI signal back to it so that you can record *both* the MIDI and audio; this is great if you make mistakes; you can correct by editing the MIDI)
• An audio interface (which may come bundled with a DAW or other software)

 

[kopec]

thanks a lot kanthos - I really appreciate that , great help, with you, things become clearer and clearer

kopec